Ch 5
Kim knew he had no basis to contest what Betty's roommates were telling him. He hoped that by hearing it all, they would close the chapter on his own screwups and maybe, just maybe, they would stop their hostility towards him. He wasn't the worst of people; he was just young, naΓ―ve, a bit self-centered and wanting 'everything' on his terms. As he heard more and more of the details of what had transpired since Friday evening, he became less and less confident that anything would work out for him.
He knew that Betty's roomie wasn't holding back, that she truly didn't like him. Unlike Marla, who showed some empathy for his stupidity, Trisha was out for blood. She truly wanted to injure Kimmy in every way she could. That she was with Betty to talk about things in the middle of the night didn't help his cause in the slightest.
Trisha then added "They're quite the couple, if you ask me. They went to the beach on Sunday; I loaned her my new bikini to wear as all she had was a boring one piece. They were at the beach ALL DAY but I told him to make sure she had suntan oil on.. all over her body, Kimmy" her voice evil, knowing that I was visualizing all of it.
Betty had shown me that bikini one time as Trisha had left her clothes scattered around their shared room and it was very visible- dark red and very skimpy. I pictured Betty wearing it and felt arousal but then realized that she wore it for Damien, but I still felt a tingly sensation. I adjusted my crotch, wondering what was coming over me- that sensation that I had felt when I saw her kissing him was now escalated 1000x. What the hell was going on?
Trisha wasn't done with me, not yet. "Oh, you know those bright blue spandex disco pants you bought her? Guess what Kim. She wore them out tonight!" she said, even as I could hear the others whispering 'no.. o god you told him?'
"They went out dancing," Trisha continued, knowing that she was inflicting severe pain to the pathetic individual on the receiving end of her words. "Damien has some friends in Hollywood who own a nightclub and they're out... and you know what? I borrowed some really sexy silver high heels and matching silver low cut top from one of my sorority sisters- we had to convince Betty to..."
'o god you're telling him that too?' and gasps were now even louder.
"...to...convince her to show herself off; a few glasses of wine and she smoked part of a joint- she looked soo sexy" she concluded. Trisha never really liked me; she wanted Betty to join her sorority and had her application done, submitted for pledge week, but then I had butted in and 'told her' to NOT join. Stupid, inSEXure me, afraid of her joining some group- who, we all know, have relations with fraternities.
DAMMIT!!!
So- there I was, listening to this- all that I had kind of planned & plotted, where I.. I would have all of the freedoms, squashed. Where I thought I was calling all the shots? Dead. Now what?
"Well.. um.. OK, I guess.. um.. well.. when she comes home.. tonight.. would you let her know that I called?" I asked.
"When she comes home.." "IF.. IF.." one of her roomies chimed in.. "we'll let her know you called.. when she's back.. here".
Ch 6
Studio 54 was all the rage in headlines but that that was on the other side of the country. Still, LA & Hollywood had its own versions on perhaps a smaller scale. Betty grew up as the eldest child in her family and took on a part-time volunteer role of the surrogate mom, much to the angst of her younger brothers & sisters. All of her cousins were near her age so there was no one to show her the ropes nor to take her out to tour the wild side of greater LA. Her experience was the bars & restaurants in southern California beach towns, if anything at all.
So, when Damien picked her up to go 'clubbing', Betty was a bit nervous. It helped immensely that her roomies had helped her get ready and removed the stress of choosing the clothing selection completely from her. It helped even more that she, at 18, had now consumed several glasses of wine and smoked half a joint. She felt guilty in smoking weed- she had made some silly promise to Jesus that she would never take drugs, but here she was, feeling kind of similar to the evening at Damien's condo the week prior. The weed wasn't super potent but she was new to it and she definitely felt a buzz. Trisha put some R&B on the radio to help set the mood for Betty's evening out. Trisha also had plans for the night as there was a large party co-hosted by her sorority and her boyfriends' frat. She had Betty come into the bedroom to help her get ready for her own soiree- for the company and to keep Betty focused.
A knock at the door sounded through the apartment; there was some fear that for some reason, Kim would be suddenly appearing, again, uninvited and interrupting. It wasn't. Damien was right on time, wearing a fashionable black ensemble, two buttons of his shirt undone to expose his muscular chest. Marla invited him in and gave him the once over, then called to Betty to let her know that her BOYFRIEND was there. Trisha lit the remainder of the joint and placed it on Betty's lips.
"Just a small hit, so that you relax.. go.. have fun.. Damien's so hot and much better looking than Kim. And Betty, YOU look sooo SEXY! Now go have fun- a whole new chapter,.. understand?" Trisha said with firmness as she held Betty's hands. Betty exhaled and then, stopping at the bedroom mirror, looked at herself and felt such a rush. She couldn't believe who she saw. Betty leaned forward and put an extra coat of lip gloss on and then waved to Trisha.
Damien looked at her and couldn't believe it- by now, he had seen her in casual office attire as well as in her bikini and fun clothes, but, until now, nothing like this. He walked to her, hands extended, and they embraced and then she felt just how much she aroused him. He leaned close and kissed her neck, inhaling her perfume.
"You are knockout gorgeous! God you look so beautiful! Does anyone have a camera? Take some photos of us.. together?" he said.
Marla stepped forward with her camera- she was a photojournalism major- and took over a dozen photos of them together, and then some poses that she knew Damien would love to have in his bedroom. Marla loved this chance to help Betty move along and to truly become a free woman. Though she liked Kimmy, she hated guys who thought they owned others, especially Betty. If Kim ever came around, she was going to make sure that several of these photos would be just 'sitting around' for him to see. Ha!
The drive to Westwood and then Hollywood wasn't all that bad for a Saturday evening. Damien mentioned to Betty the names of a couple places to dine at; she told him that she was 'in his hands' which brought a smile to his face. Indeed! He suggested that the small French bistro would be a great choice as the owners were dedicated to true French cuisine and it was located quite close to the dance club they were going to.
Dinner was magnifique though they both ordered on the light side to expedite their time in the bistro and their desire to be dancing. Over her second glass of French Chardonnay, Betty did tell Damien that she was a little nervous as she had no real formal dance lessons. He held her hand to help her feel relaxed, then told her that he was in a similar situation and that they should just have fun and do as they liked. If it was really fun, maybe they could take dance lessons together- he assured her, it was all her choice. Betty smiled in hearing that; Kimmy had been so demanding about what she should or shouldn't do and she often felt stifled by his presence. Damien, for some, or maybe many reasons, was just the opposite.